OWINGS MILLS – The Baltimore Ravens returned to practice Saturday after Thursday night’s 27-23 win over the Atlanta Falcons in their second preseason game of 2013.

Head Coach John Harbaugh announced Thursday night that LB Elvis Dumervil had suffered a “slight” groin injury in the victory, an injury that kept Dumervil out of Saturday’s practice session. Harbaugh reiterated Saturday that Dumervil’s injury “was not a serious deal” but could not commit to when the three time Pro Bowler would return to practice.

The former Broncos pass rusher had declared “I’m fine” after the game when asked about the injury.

OFFENSE STRUGGLES: The day’s offense/defense 11 on 11 competition ended in a tie 50-50 score, but the offense needed to be picked up by their second team unit.

The first team offense struggled throughout the day, including multiple interceptions thrown by QB Joe Flacco. CB Lardarius Webb got a pick when new TE Dallas Clark cut in and Flacco’s pass went outside near the goal line. This was only Clark’s second practice since joining the team.

ROOKIE RECEIVERS GET CHANCE: Some younger receivers received snaps with the first team offense Saturday.

Undrafted free agent Marlon Brown received steady snaps with the first team during the day, while fellow rookie Aaron Mellette received some snaps with the first team as well after catching his second touchdown of the preseason Thursday night. Harbaugh was happy with Mellette’s performance, saying after practice “that’s how you make it, that’s how you earn your stripes, you make plays.”

Third year receiver Tandon Doss was active Saturday, making a number of catches in the middle of the field.

CAMP OVER: Saturday’s practiced marked the first after the end of the “Training Camp” portion of the Summer. For the first time since the team reported in July, there were no fans at the Owings Mills facility to watch practice.

The Ravens will practice Sunday afternoon at Stevenson University’s Mustang Stadium, marking the final “open” practice of 2013. Fans were able to enter a lottery for the chance to win tickets to Sunday’s practice. The Ravens will practice in Owings Mills Monday and Tuesday before Thursday night’s game against the Carolina Panthers at M&T Bank Stadium.

OWINGS MILLS – The Baltimore Ravens suffered a major blow during practice Saturday.

“Dennis (Pitta) has a dislocated hip” head coach John Harbaugh announced following practice. “We’ll have to take a look at that and see exactly what it is. It’s a serious injury. He’s going to be out for awhile, he will not be in the Denver game (Week 1). We’ll just have to play it from there to see how long it goes.”

ESPN reported Saturday night that Pitta, who was transported to a local hospital and underwent surgery immediately, is expected to miss the entire season.

The injury occurred after the tight end collided with S James Ihedigbo on a pass play in the back of the end zone. Saturday’s practice was the first padded practice of this year’s Training Camp.

The injury is a major blow for the Baltimore Ravens, who traded WR Anquan Boldin to the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason. Pitta had been hoped to build on his 2012 season (61 catches, 669 yards, seven touchdowns) to help replace Boldin.

Ed Dickson, Billy Bajema and rookie Matt Furstenburg all saw snaps with the first team offense after Pitta’s departure. Free agent TE Visanthe Shiancoe (Morgan State) visited the Ravens’ facility earlier in the week but did not sign. Rookie FB Kyle Juszczek could also be asked to help out in the process, especially if the Ravens were to re-sign current free agent FB Vonta Leach as the Newark Star-Ledger reported Thursday night they are expected to do.

“Somebody’s going to have to step up and we do have some capable guys. All across the flanks we do have some weapons. We’re just going to have to have some guys make some plays for us.”

Dickson-a fellow fourth year tight end-moves to the top of the tight end depth chart in Pitta’s absence. Dickson told WNST.net “it’s on me to go out there and build chemistry with (QB) Joe (Flacco) and to do the things that I do to the best of my ability.”

Dickson also told WNST.net he sent Pitta a text after practice saying “Keep your head up…the injury’s not going to hold you down. We need you. Praying for you…I’m holding down the fort for you.”

Dickson’s 2012 numbers were disappointing as he fought through injuries. The tight end played in just 13 games and caught 21 balls for 225 yards without a touchdown grab. “Ed has been playing and performing extremely well” Caldwell said. “He’s had a good camp thus far. He’s moving well, he’s catching the ball for us, he has a lot of big play potential. Ed is a very capable guy. We’re going to have to have some other guys step up as well.

According to the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, a dislocated hip usually takes upwards of 2-3 months for recovery and rehabilitation.

Making matters worse for the Ravens is their lack of depth at receiver as well. Without Boldin, only Torrey Smith and Jacoby Jones have more than even 123 career receiving yards. Doss has those 123, David Reed 66, Deonte Thompson 51, LaQuan Williams 46. Neither Tommy Streeter nor rookie Aaron Mellette has ever played in a NFL game.

YANDA REMAINS OUT: Despite being removed from the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list Friday, OL Marshal Yanda (shoulder) was not present Saturday, but is expected to return shortly. S Anthony Levine (shoulder) was on the practice for a second straight day after being removed from the PUP list. LB Jameel McClain (back) remains on the PUP list and did not practice Saturday.

OT Bryant McKinnie (conditioning) left practice early Friday as coach John Harbaugh had concerns for how he’d hold up in the heat, he was back on the practice field Saturday afternoon. OL Kelechi Osemele (hamstring) and Ryan Jensen (leg) were not present for Saturday’s practice. WR LaQuan Williams (arm) and Marlon Brown (knee) were not present as well.

DL Kapron Lewis-Moore (knee) remains on the non-football injury list and is not expected to practice during Training Camp.

OTHER PRACTICE NOTES: S Omar Brown appears to have switched jersey numbers, going from number 38 to number 31.

K Justin Tucker stood out during Saturday’s practice, including makes from 60 yards and 65 yards out. After the make from 65, Tucker let out an exclamation of “Come on!”

LB Terrell Suggs had the quote of the day. After making a tackle on a goal line stop against the first team offense, Suggs yelled out “Where the f*ck is Vonta Leach when you need him?”

As Nestor Aparicio, Luke Jones and I were sitting at the Baltimore Ravens’ facility in Owings Mills Friday night, we were discussing the finality of the Ravens’ Super Bowl XLVII season/celebration. Luke pointed out the team would still have the ability to hang a Super Bowl championship banner at M&T Bank Stadium before their home opener Week 2 against the Cleveland Browns, but that’s about all that’s left for this team.

With the White House visited and the rings handed out, the Baltimore Ravens are now-in the words of now NFL agent Jay-Z-“on to the next one.” It was nice to have Ray Lewis and Ed Reed around Charm City for a week. It was nice to reflect once more on this particular era of Ravens football.

But as of today, that’s over.

As of today, the relationship between Ed Reed and the Baltimore Ravens is once again severed. He won’t be back in the building again until his career comes to a close. As of today, Ed Reed is nothing more than a player the Ravens will have to go up against when they play the Houston Texans…if he’s healthy enough to play.

It has been remarkably fun to celebrate a Super Bowl title for Baltimore Ravens players (and coaches and staffers who also received rings Friday night) and fans alike. It’s been a wild four months of player movement, late-night talk shows, Dancing With The Stars, accolades and high-fives.

It’s all in the past now.

The Ravens open their only mandatory mini-camp of the offseason tomorrow in Owings Mills. While a number of players have taken part in voluntary OTA’s and strength programs, this will be the first gathering of what will make up the overwhelming majority of the 2013 version of this team. There will still be a few lingering injuries that will prevent players from taking part in practice, but it will most certainly be the closest thing we’ll see to the first look at the Ravens in the post Lewis/Reed era before Training Camp.

While you’re scrambling to make sure you have your copy of “Purple Reign 2″ before Father’s Day (and that isn’t a bit-you REALLY need to make sure this is the gift you’re giving), the Purple Birds will spend their week taking the best look they can at the team that will take the field this year to try to protect their Lombardi Trophy.

For the World Champs, there are a number of questions as always. None will be fully addressed in minicamp; because no NFL issue has EVER really been fully addressed during the course of a minicamp. But many will be viewed closely with the understanding that this is the best opportunity to set the tone for how the team handles both Camp and preseason games.

The Ravens will have to plan a depth chart before Training Camp gets underway. While all players will get reps, determining who gets which reps with which unit and how many are necessary is something that will happen between now and the start of Camp. At no position is that determination more difficult than wide receiver.

The Ravens know what they have at the top of the depth chart at wide receiver. Torrey Smith (or “Samson” as LB Terrell Suggs joked Friday night) is expected to lead the group and appears to be on the verge of breakout stardom. His exceptional speed was combined with better route running and improved catching consistency last season, leaving many to believe he could become a 1,000 yard type of receiver in his third year out of Maryland.

“You can always look at how the guys play. You just look at the tape. But at the combine you find out what kind of people they are. What’s important to them? How important is football to them? How important is their family to them? If we get those two things right, we’ll be right most of the time.”
-- John Harbaugh (March 2008)

AN NFL SCOUT’S LIFE EXISTS with perpetual hope. Every time he shows up on a campus to watch a kid run, or gets on a plane to fly to a college town to see a game in the fall, or fires up his iPad to watch film, he wants to believe he’s about to find the next player who will help his team win the Super Bowl.

It’s the eternal quest for any NFL scout – find the next Pro Bowl player who can become a Hall of Famer. Or, at the very least, find a player who can help you win every year for the next decade.

By the time Baltimore Ravens area scouts Andy Weidl and Joe Douglas got in their cars and made the one hour drive north up Interstate 95 from Owings Mills to Newark, Delaware on November 10, 2007, Joe Flacco wasn’t a secret to the college scouting world. And he certainly was no stranger to Douglas, who joined the team in 2000 and is known to all in the Ravens organization as “Big Joe D,” whose job it was to scout the Northeast for the team from 2003 through 2008. Douglas was made famous during the Ravens’ summer of 2001 filming of “Hard Knocks” on HBO as “The Turk,” the lowly scout who has the duty of summoning players from the locker room to the office of the head coach where “Coach wants to see you, bring your playbook” means you’ll be leaving the campus and chasing your NFL dream elsewhere.

Incidentally, UrbanDictionary.com defines “turk” as “someone who is extremely brave.” Joe Douglas spent six months talking Ozzie Newsome, Eric DeCosta and Joe Hortiz into drafting a Division 1-AA quarterback from Delaware in the first round of the NFL draft.

Douglas, by any measurement, is as brave as Joe Flacco is fearless.

By 2007, Douglas had moved up the ranks of the scouting system and was making that fateful Saturday a “quarterback doubleheader” – a rare chance to see two teams in one day, both with targets who could be the next quarterback of the Baltimore Ravens. The afternoon game in Newark featured the Delaware Blue Hens hosting the Richmond Spiders in a Division I-AA matchup. The nightcap on the docket was Boston College visiting the Maryland Terps in College Park and Douglas would be joined by longtime Ravens scouts Eric DeCosta and Joe Hortiz, whom he’d meet at the I-95 Park and Ride near Catonsville so they could travel together to Byrd Stadium. Their target that evening was visiting Eagles quarterback Matt Ryan, who many thought would be the first quarterback – if not the first player – taken in the April 2008 draft.

Incidentally, Douglas was rooting hard for Richmond that afternoon and not out of disdain for Flacco or Delaware. Douglas was the starting left tackle for the Spiders from 1995-1998 and had been through many battles with the Blue Hens on the field. He was also quite familiar with many of the coaches and players in this contest. Even when he didn’t attend Richmond games – and it was rare to see his alma mater in person because NFL scouts don’t scout a lot of I-AA football games unless there’s a specific prospect they want to evaluate – his father would give him weekly Spiders reports from stands.

It was Douglas’ dad, Joel Douglas, who first told Big Joe D about Joe Flacco a year earlier after seeing the 2006 matchup in Richmond.

“He went to the game with my uncle and he called me up and said, ‘I don’t know who that Delaware quarterback was, but Richmond couldn’t stop him,’” Douglas said of a day when Flacco, then a junior who was making his seventh start for the Blue Hens, went 31-of-45 for 305 yards and a pair of TD passes in a come-from-behind 28-24 win over the Spiders. “Honestly, I was more mad that Richmond blew the lead than I was concerned about who Delaware’s junior quarterback was that day.”

The NFL scouting calendar begins in May after the draft. DeCosta and Hortiz enlist the entire organization to target potential candidates to scout for the following year. By August, the scouts plan their entire schedule for the fall, trying to chunk as many practices, games, campus visits and interviews as possible into the schedule while also trying to see the Ravens play some games at home and away. As an NFL scout, this is the most important time of the year because it’s a grueling workload, traveling as much as six days per week in search of a handful of picks you’ll make next April. Choosing a wise schedule lends itself to more rest and better scouting when you’re not driving six hours every day between visits. The schedule has to flow and be manageable so every possible combination is considered around games, campuses, distance, dates and, most importantly, legitimate prospects.

In the summer of 2007, Ravens scout Mark Azevedo, who was assigned Delaware during spring ball, recommended that Douglas see a tall, lanky kid who played quarterback at Delaware.

“Mark said, ‘Delaware has a kid with an arm. Put them on your schedule,’” Douglas said. “I had to look up his name because it rang a bell from the previous year when Delaware beat my Spiders.”

Even with McNair coming off a big 2006 season, anyone with football intelligence knew that the Ravens would probably be in the market for a quarterback in 2008 just based on his age and the fact that no one on Newsome’s staff – or Billick’s coaches for that matter – believed that incumbents Kyle Boller or Troy Smith were the answer. So, Douglas believed that seeing quarterbacks was a major priority that summer and fall in the hopes of finding the right player the following spring.

It was a full time job, this searching-for-a-Super Bowl-MVP-quarterback work.

Two of my absolute favorite people on the face of the planet are WNST.net’s own Luke Jones and Yahoo! Sports’ Jason Cole.

I really mean that. They’re not just two of my favorites in the business, they’re two of my favorites in the world. I love to talk shop with those guys, I love to chat about the world in general with them and I love getting the chance to spend time with them socially.

(This type of statement always leads to a “BUT….”, right? Not exactly this time.)

Both Jason and Luke joined me on “The Reality Check” during the first week of NFL free agency and separately brought up the same word, a specific word that has been repeated to me by a number of callers and e-mailers over the course of the last couple of weeks.

The word is “regression.” If you were playing in the Scripps National Spelling Bee, the moderator would tell you the word was of latin origin and could be defined as “a trend or shift toward a lower or less perfect state.” Perhaps the word could be used in a sentence along the lines of “After losing the players the Baltimore Ravens have lost thus far, we can expect regression from the team in 2013.”

That was essentially how both guys (and others) used the word over the last few weeks.

(You’re now CERTAIN there’s going to be a “BUT…” coming, aren’t you?)

I had to start every discussion about the term that I’ve had both on-air and off since the offseason began by accepting that Luke, Jason and everyone else who has suggested the Ravens are going to “regress” in 2013 are…well…probably right. I’m sorry. It had to be said.

They’re right because the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2012 and it will be very difficult for them to win the Super Bowl again in 2013. Any scenario that doesn’t involve the Ravens hoisting a third Vince Lombardi Trophy would technically mean they had “regressed” from where they were last season.

(Okay, now it’s time.)

BUT…I was never REALLY willing to accept the notion of “regression” for the Ravens at any point. Sunday’s signing of former Denver Broncos pass rusher Elvis Dumervil re-inforces that belief, but it absolutely did not establish it. I just hope the addition of Dumervil will force others to similarly push aside the notion of “regression” in 2013.

“Our hope is that the Hall of Fame players we drafted could play their entire careers with us, but we understand why Ed is moving on to the Texans.

“He’s not the first Hall of Famer to move to another team. Tony Gonzalez is playing with the Falcons. Joe Montana played with the Chiefs. Shannon Sharpe and Rod Woodson played for the Ravens.

“How fortunate we were to have Ed with us for 11 seasons. He is one of the Ravens’ and NFL’s all-time greats. Words cannot measure what he did for us, including helping us win a second Super Bowl. We thank him for all he did for Baltimore. Ed will always be a part of the Ravens family.”

Ravens Head Coach John Harbaugh:

“Ed has had a major impact on our organization and our community. He is a great player and a great friend. We will always be thankful for what we accomplished together.”

“It is not a secret that we did not have an ideal result last night, the Ravens winning outright really cost us on the money line and futures and it made two years in a row the book did not have a winning Super Bowl. One saving grace was the safety at the end of the game did not allow Baltimore to cover the alternate spread of them winning by 3.5 paying out at 5/2 odds, which was our heaviest bet prop, so at least that went in our favor. The National Anthem as unpredictable as it was this year, our number was pretty dead on with it just going over the total of 2:15 while we were a bit low on the number of times they would say “Harbaugh” during the game, we had posted a total of 20.5 and I stopped counting once it hit 30, the power outage was no help on that one.”

-Kevin Bradley, Sports Book Manager, Bovada.lv

Super Bowl XLVIII Odds (2014)

Odds to win the 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII

Denver Broncos 7/1

New England Patriots 15/2

San Francisco 49ers 15/2

Green Bay Packers 10/1

Baltimore Ravens 12/1

Seattle Seahawks 12/1

Houston Texans 14/1

Atlanta Falcons 18/1

New Orleans Saints 18/1

Pittsburgh Steelers 18/1

Chicago Bears 20/1

New York Giants 20/1

Dallas Cowboys 25/1

Washington Redskins 30/1

Indianapolis Colts 33/1

Cincinnati Bengals 35/1

Detroit Lions 35/1

Minnesota Vikings 35/1

Philadelphia Eagles 35/1

San Diego Chargers 35/1

New York Jets 40/1

Carolina Panthers 50/1

Kansas City Chiefs 50/1

Miami Dolphins 50/1

St. Louis Rams 50/1

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 50/1

Arizona Cardinals 66/1

Cleveland Browns 66/1

Tennessee Titans 66/1

Buffalo Bills 100/1

Oakland Raiders 100/1

Jacksonville Jaguars 150/1

Exotics Results

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – How long will it take Alicia Keys to sing the US National Anthem?

Over/Under 2 minutes 15seconds

2:20

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – Will Alicia Keys be booed during or after her rendition of the US National Anthem?

Yes 5/1

No

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – Will Alicia Keys forget or omit at least 1 word of the official US National Anthem?

Yes +150 (3/2)

No -200 (1/2)

No

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – Will Alicia Keys add at least 1 word of the official US National Anthem?

Yes +200 (2/1)

No -300 (1/3)

Yes

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – Will Beyonce be joined by Jay Z on Stage during the Super Bowl Half Time Show?

Yes +110 (11/10)

No -150 (2/3)

No

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – Will Beyonce’s hair be Curly/Crimped OR Straight at the beginning of the Super Bowl Halftime show?

Straight -140 (5/7)

Curly/Crimped EVEN (1/1)

Curly/Crimped

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – What predominant color will Beyonce’s top be at the beginning of the Super Bowl Halftime show?

Black 9/4

Gold (Yellow) 11/4

Silver (Grey) 7/2

White 5/1

Red 13/2

Pink 15/2

Orange 12/1

Blue 15/1

Green 15/1

Black

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – Will either Jack or Jackie Harbaugh be shown on TV wearing any clothing that has either a SF or BAL logo on it during the game?

Yes +200 (2/1)

No -300 (1/3)

No

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – How many times will Jack Harbaugh be shown on TV during the game?

Over 1.5 (-140) (5/7)

Under 1.5 (EVEN) (1/1)

1

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – How many times will the game be referred to as the Harbaugh Bowl or Har Bowl or Super Baugh during the game?

Over/Under 2 ½

0

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – Who will be shown first during the game?

Jim Harbaugh 1/1

John Harbaugh 1/1

Split screen shot of both 4/1

Jim Harbaugh

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – How long will the post game handshake/hug last between Jim & John Harbaugh?

Over/Under 7.5 seconds

4 seconds

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – Who will be mentioned more by full name during the game?

Jim Harbaugh -120

John Harbaugh -120

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – How many times will Harbaugh be said during the game?

20.5

Over 30 times

SUPER BOWL XLVII SPECIALS – Will any Baltimore of San Francisco Player on active roster be arrested before Super Bowl XLVII?

(on Chris Culliver’s statements) “We reject what he said. That’s not something that reflects the way the organization feels, the way most of the players feel.”

(on if Chris Culliver’s statements will impact his playing time in the Super Bowl) “I think it’s going to impact him going forward. I think it’s something that he will learn about himself. You saw his statement; he pledged to grow from it. It will affect him. Hope and pray that it affects him in a positive way going forward.”

(on Frank Gore’s evolution within the pistol offense) “Nobody does it better than Frank Gore. Nobody. Have the greatest respect for Frank because he has the greatest respect for the game. It’s evidenced by how he plays, every single game, every single day. Nobody does it better than Frank Gore. I really believe in his talent, but the greatest share is his love for the game; his love and respect for the game of football.”

(on what motivation approach he’ll use before the game) “I don’t have anything in mind to really answer that question. Very excited for today. I would really love to have a photocopy of yesterday. That’s what I would most like to have to get out of today. The energy we had at practice, the execution we had at practice, if we could go to the machine and get a photocopy of exactly what we had yesterday and come back and get that today would be outstanding. If I could just elaborate a little bit, we had a lot of things go good for us yesterday as I said, execution, the energy. Outstanding by our scout team players. I’d just like to talk about that for just a little bit because it was so striking. Our young players, our future starters on future championship teams have progressed and it’s been wonderful, wonderful that we’ve gotten five extra days of practice than 20 other teams have gotten. There’s been some guys, Ricardo Lockette was outstanding. He was flying around the field. Ricardo Lockette, Tony Jerod-Eddie, Cam Johnson and Al Netter are four guys that are on our squad had a chance to go to other teams during the season, they got offers to be brought up to other teams’ 53 (man roster) but chose to stay with the San Francisco 49ers. I believe it speaks volumes for the way they enjoy being on this team and being with their teammates. Guys like Michael Thomas. Michael Thomas has been just a stud this entire year. He plays safety, he plays corner, he plays receiver. He just keeps getting better and better. Trenton Robinson is our scout team player of the week in some form or fashion, whether it’s on offense or special teams, or defense, pretty much consistently every single week. Kenny Wiggins is doing an outstanding job. Scott Tolzien just busts his butt every single day. I notice in some of the clips that he was talking about writing an essay about the quarterback room and the example that Alex Smith has shown this year. We’re going to make that be a real essay, too. We’re not going to let that be just an empty suggestion by Scott Tolzien, we’ll look very much forward to getting that essay. Michael Wilhoite is a guy that was that kind of player for us last year and the first part of this year and now he’s out there playing, and playing in the Super Bowl this week. I just can’t tell you how exciting and how wonderful it is to see these players grow. I can’t wait to see them come back out today. A guy like Ian Williams has been fantastic, not to mention Ricky Jean Francois. We couldn’t block him yesterday; we could not block him. So there were quite a few positives going and like I said, we’ll see if we can’t get a photocopy of that today.”

(on if he’s developing his young players like a college bowl game) “Yes, it does feel that way. It just reinforces what you believe as a former player and as a coach, that you get better at football by playing football, by practicing football. There are other ways, the conditioning, the weight lifting, the hours and hours that the men do that, but the playing of football and the practicing of football. These guys have a great attitude and work extremely hard, you just know it’s going to work out for guys like that. To see it working out, it’s just a tremendous feeling for us and no question, the bowl week preparation, that’s always three extra weeks but we’re getting five. I believe this is week five with the bye we had going into the first round, then the first round game, then the second round game, and then a bye and then this week. Week five, maybe six. It’s just fantastic, wonderful, wonderful. See if we can’t get a photocopy of that today.”

-more-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Super Bowl XLVII – Thursday, January 31, 2013

QUOTES FROM SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS MEDIA SESSION

MORE HEAD COACH JIM HARBAUGH

(on what he has seen from David Akers) “He did have the offseason surgery. It was a struggle for him in the offseason, not that I knew that. I wasn’t aware of that, but teammates and talking to David, it’s something that he worked very hard at, rehabilitating in the offseason. Came into training camp ready to go and got off to a wicked hot start at the beginning of the season. Then had some missed field goals in the middle, but was just grinding. The true competitor that he is kept working and kept grinding at it. Not over-kicking, but grinding with the process. He’s been hitting the ball really well. He’s had some really good hits on the ball that haven’t gone through and we’ll live with that. We know what he’s capable of doing. He’s going through his process practicing, working at it, and we’ll get the results. We’re very confident he’s going to have a big day in the Super Bowl.”

(on whether there was a moment he decided to stick with David Akers) “That’s a multiple choice question, but I think several factors. What he’s done, what he’s capable of, the way he’s worked at is rehabilitation, and the way he’s hitting the ball. We even threw in some competition there three or four weeks back and he prevailed in that environment. There are several factors.”

(on if he believed that Colin Kaepernick was the best player in the 2011 Draft) “I’ve said this a couple times, but we’ll address those draft stories and different decisions that took place a couple years ago at a different time. All those questions and answers lead to shameless self-promotion. This is Colin’s time. He’s worked extremely hard and he’s done a tremendous job. This is time for the players that are playing in the game. Rather than veer off onto that path, I would rather avoid that at this time.”

(on whether he spoke with Chris Culliver personally) “We had a conversation, yes.”

(on if running the wishbone at Michigan helped open his eyes to running the option in the NFL) “Yes, I’m sure. Bo Schembechler talked about it before, Lou Holtz has said it, maybe in the best way that I’ve ever heard it, said was that by running option football, it allows you to play 11-on-11. Football without an attack is basically playing with 10. A quarterback that doesn’t block anybody, isn’t an ineligible pass receiver basically leaves the defense with one more than you have. But when you have a quarterback that can run in the option attack, or give, or pitch, you get the numbers back to even, 11-on-11. Long had an appreciation for that type of football.”

(on Bill Walsh being involved in the Stanford job) “Coach Walsh did call me and left a message on my phone to see if I would be interested in the Stanford coaching job. I was intending to leave that message on my phone for the rest of my life, but I lost that phone or dropped it in the toilet or something. I can’t remember which it was, I lost it or dropped it in the can, but I don’t have that message anymore. Truly one of the most memorable things was getting that message.”

(on what he learned from Bill Walsh) “So many different things. When we first got to Stanford, Coach Walsh was working at Stanford. He would come in and one of our favorite things to do was to sit down and watch recruiting tape with our offensive staff. There was one day in particular that we had all of the quarterbacks lined up, there were seven or eight quarterbacks. There were a lot of names that you’d all know that are playing big-time college football and professional football. Coach Walsh was with us and we ranked them. My memory is that Andrew Luck was his, and our, favorite.”

(on what was said in the conversation between he and Chris Culliver) “I wouldn’t walk you through. I treat those conversations as private conversations. But, I do believe that there wasn’t malice in his heart; he’s not that kind of person. He’s not an ugly person; he’s not a discriminating person. He may have heard talk like that and may have thought that that was what his opinions were that he learned, but he regrets that. That’s not who he is, that’s not what he really believes in. I think it took this incident to hear those words being said by home and to see them written down on paper, for him to realize that they were hurtful and ugly. I know that he takes that to heart and I really think this is something he’ll learn and grow from.”

-more-

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Super Bowl XLVII – Thursday, January 31, 2013

QUOTES FROM SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS MEDIA SESSION

MORE HEAD COACH JIM HARBAUGH

(on Chris Culliver’s play) “He’s been a very valued member. He’s been a trusted agent and known friend to our team.”

(on how he would feel if he beat his brother in the Super Bowl) “If we are to win this game, it’s going to be earned. That would be the adjective I would use. This is a tremendous Baltimore Ravens team offensively, defensively and special teams. Strong, tough, big men who play in the lines. The quarterback is playing outstanding football. Joe Flacco has done it his whole career. When you’re watching him in playoff games, last year in the AFC Championship game, he made the big throw at the end of the game. It didn’t go their way, but he’s done that again this year in the high-pressure situations. That’s an offense that has the ability to attack with multiple weapons, the receiver position, the tight end position and the running back position. Our defense is in for a very formidable challenge. Defensively, the same thing. This is a team that is extremely talented on defense. They’re healthy, they’re a veteran group. They’re very well-coached. You see them adjust from team to team, whether it’s the Broncos, the Redskins, week-in and week-out this team has the ability to play at a high level from multiple looks. Special teams, they are consistently a top-5 in the National Football League. I’m repeating this, and maybe I’m a little biased, but an extremely well-coached team. The two things that worry us the most is it’s a talented team that plays with a lot of heart. If we were to win this game, it would be very well-earned and that would be the great thrill of winning. The wonderful, wonderful feeling of winning.”